Miner Anglo American will complete the ramp up of its Los Bronces copper mine faster than it previously expected.

Mr John MacKenzie Anglo American's head of copper said that Los Broncos would produce 233,400 tonnes of copper this year, an annual increase of 5.6pc. Anglo's expansion plans will ultimately make Los Bronces the fifth-largest copper mine in the world.

Anglo is trying to increase production of its key commodities after it rejected a nil-premium merger of equals approach from Mr Mick Davis' Xstrata in 2009. Ms Cynthia Carroll CEO of Anglo argued that her company's organic growth profile was superior to Xstrata and rejected the talk outright.

However, the Los Bronces mine is now subject to a battle between Anglo American and Codelco. The state owned Chilean copper group wants to exercise an option to buy 49pc stake the subsidiary that owns the mine, in a move that sent fears of resource nationalism through the global mining industry.

The two groups have squared up for a lengthy battle in the Chilean courts after Anglo sold a 24.5pc stake in the operation to Mitsubishi Corporation for USD 5.4 billion.

Mr Hernan de Solminihac mining minister of Chile said that "First sit down and find what the different official positions are and find the best solution for the interests of all Chileans. If a deal can't be reached, follow the legal route."

(Sourced from www.telegraph.co.uk)